The White House refused Monday to clarify President Obama’s vague position on same-sex marriage even as the public endorsement of such unions by two members of his administration created fresh pressure on the president to fully endorse gay marriage before November’s election.
Obama’s administration and campaign team continued to strike a delicate balance between the president’s stated commitment to gay rights and his reluctance to endorse the issue of pre-eminent importance to gay supporters — marriage.
Vice President Joe Biden set off the debate Sunday when he declared himself “absolutely comfortable” with gay marriage — a sentiment echoed Monday by Education Secretary Arne Duncan. That left the White House scrambling to explain why Obama isn’t endorsing same-sex marriage despite its growing popularity within the Democratic Party he leads. Obama has said only that his views on the issue are “evolving.”
“The president’s position is well known,” White House press secretary Jay Carney said. “It is what it was.”
Carney and other administration officials, however, struggled to explain how Obama could criticize states for banning same-sex marriage while refusing to endorse it himself.
Analysts say that Obama’s stance is motivated by political realities. Gay-rights advocates will likely back him overwhelmingly this fall, but the president would risk alienating centrist Democrats, blacks and independents if he backed same-sex marriage.
“Look, everybody knows he’s going to push for gay marriage — just after the election,” said one Democratic strategist. “Sure, it’s a steely political calculation, but he just can’t tie himself to that message in Virginia, North Carolina and those other areas where he’s trying to win over culturally conservative voters.”
Indeed, North Carolina, site of this year’s Democratic convention, was set to vote Tuesday on a ballot initiative that defines marriage as being solely between a man and a woman, effectively banning same-sex marriages.
Obama’s campaign team responded to the flood of questions over the president’s position by trying to deflect attention to his likely fall opponent, Republican Mitt Romney.
“There couldn’t be a starker contrast on this issue than with Gov. Romney, who has funded efforts to roll back marriage laws in California and other places,” Obama campaign strategist David Axelrod said.
Romney, meanwhile, touted his opposition to same-sex marriage while Republicans accused Obama of caving in to political expediency and failing to lead his party.
“The president wants to be able to play both sides of this issue,” Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus said. “He’s just not authentic anymore. People just aren’t buying what he’s selling.”
The White House insists Obama has done more to promote gay rights than any other president. They point to Obama’s lifting of the “don’t ask, don’t tell” ban on gay troops serving openly in the U.S. military and his Justice Department’s refusal to enforce a federal law enacted under Democratic President Bill Clinton that defined marriage as an exclusively heterosexual institution.
But gay-rights advocates said it’s time for Obama to clarify where he stands.
“Arne Duncan joins Joe Biden now in embracing civil marriage for committed gay and lesbian couples,” said Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese. “There’s no doubt in my mind that the president shares these values and that’s why it’s time for him to speak out in favor of marriage equality as well.”
